Overview

The Android dependency feature provides projects with the option of enforcing dependencies between CommCare and another third-party application. This is useful in instances where a key application workflow depends on an integration with another application.
An example is an application that facilitates beneficiary wage payments, where the bank details of the beneficiaries are validated through an integration with a banking app. A beneficiary cannot be registered before their banking details are validated. So, to prevent users from encountering issues while already in the app, enabling the app dependency App would cause CommCare to throw an error at App installation level or when a user clicks the start button after logging in.

Setting up an Application dependency on the Application

1. Navigate to the “Advanced Settings” page of an application.
   
   

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2. Then click on “Android Settings” option on the drop down list on the right.

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3. Once the “Android Settings” page is opened, navigate to the “Android App dependencies” select option.
   
   

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4. Select the application(s) you wish to set as dependencies. You can choose more than one app. To deselect an app dependency, use CTRL+Click or SHIFT+Click to unselect it.

5. Once the application's dependencies are set, it should be built to release a new version.

   1. For applications where dependencies are added after the app is live, mobile workers will need to update the ppp.

Validating for a Dependency

The validation and checking of dependencies occur at two points in an application. It happens when an application is being installed. During installation validation, the user has the option to navigate to the Play Store to install the third party App or to close the user interface. If the user closes the user interface without installing the third party, the validation will then take place as soon as the user clicks on "start" while logged into the application, and the user will not be able to navigate further in the application until the third part App has been installed.

A screenshot of how the validation error message looks is shown below.

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Adding a new application dependency to CommCare

If the Android application you want to declare as a dependency for an app is not available on CommCare HQ, you can request it to be added by submitting a support request here.

Steps to perform :
Select ‘CommCare Support’ . In the next screen, navigate to 'Other Questions' . This will open up a form for you to submit.

1. Email confirmation to : Provide an email for us to send a confirmation

2. Summary : Over here, you can provide this template statement : “Request for addition of <Your-Application-Name> application as CommCare dependency“

3. Description
   In the support request description, you need to provide the following details about your application:
   
   

   1. Play Store link :
      The link of play store of the application.
      Eg. CommCare Reminders application link is
      https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.commcare.dalvik.reminders
      
      

   2. Use Case :
      Details of the use case which your application is trying to resolve.
      Eg. You application may be linked to a banking system to initiate payment to your worker. Hence, you may have to mentioned that your application application intents to initiate payments for your workers of CommCare.
      
      

   3. CommCare Project link:
      If your project is hosted on CommCareHQ platform, you should also provide the link of project.
      
      

Limitations

1. The feature only works on CommCare version 2.54 and above.

2. A dependency between CommCare and a third party App does not guarantee that the third party App will not malfunction.

3. The feature is only compatible with mobile devices that do not have access to Google Play Services.